Thai police arrest foreign man for walking around shirtless during water fight

POLICE in Thailand arrested a foreign man on Wednesday for walking around topless during a Songkran festival water fight in Chiang Mai.

The young main was detained on a charge of obscenity when police spotted him walking around without wearing a shirt.

Traffic officer Pol. Col. Piyapan Pattarapongsin said that officers had found the man, whose identity was withheld, to have committed an offence “by exposing himself to public”.

Quoting a local newspaper, Coconuts Bangkok reported that the man was taken to the police station and fined 100 baht (US$2.8).

Authorities in the province had called for a less “sexy” festival this year, imposing bans on sexual dance moves, “revealing” muscles, and hot pants to uphold its Lanna culture. “Suggestive” types of clothing when drenched were also banned.

The city also encouraged the public to don traditional Thai clothing during the festival.

On nudity and racy dancing on the streets by bare-chested teenagers during the festival, Prayuth warned that they would be arrested and fined.

“I (will) order soldiers and the police to arrest all these dancers on the trucks,” he said.

The Songkran festival, which typically takes place in mid-April, is celebrated as a new year festival in Thailand, an occasion marked by massive water fights across major cities and villages in the country.